Clear and Turbid

007 Clear and Turbid

Old Zhao was from the Imperial Capital Region. At least, all his relatives and elders within three generations had lived there. As a result, he had never been east of the Immortal Dynasty's Imperial Capital Region.

He unfolded a crude map and discussed their next direction with Chong Li.

Ren Yuan of Qingtian Gate had never been to Donghai Prefecture either. He did not know the roads farther east, and since he had firmly decided that he was nothing more than a hired muscle, he simply refused to offer an opinion on any decisions.

After spending several days together, everyone had gained a general understanding of one another.

Like Ming Shu, Little Zhao was young and ignorant. He had no idea how vast the Immortal Dynasty was or how complicated conditions were in different places.

Little Zhao had also gradually realized that Ming Shu was actually the central bond holding this small group together.

Old Zhao had a certain network of connections, but like Little Zhao, he lacked the qualifications. The identity of a eunuch from the Cold Palace had already bound the two of them hand and foot.

Ming Shu had realized this as well. Thus, the two youths of the same age tacitly established a master-and-servant relationship.

Although back in the Cold Palace one of them had still been a discarded prince with imperial blood, Ming Shu had never taken his original host's former identity seriously even then.

It was only in the past few days, after sorting through the events from beginning to end, that Ming Shu suddenly realized the arrangements along this entire journey had all revolved around him.

What exactly did that mysterious Supervisor want to do with him?

Chong Li took the map. Over the past few years, she had traveled throughout the lands around the Imperial Capital Region and had seen a great deal. Most importantly, her profession was that of a Demon Hunter.

It was an organization spread throughout the Immortal Dynasty, secretly overseen by the Supervisor's Second Disciple. It continuously supplied demonic spirits to the Demon Subduing Hall, the place sealed by the Sky-Toppling Observatory in the Royal Capital.

If wild demonic spirits entered a person's body directly and their power was used, they would cause massive contamination, subjecting both mind and body to all kinds of terrifying side effects.

Only after being collected, sent into the Demon Subduing Hall for refinement, and processed could their demonic power possibly be used in a limited manner.

Chong Li briefly explained concepts such as Demon Hunters, the Demon Subduing Hall, and the Sky-Toppling Observatory to Ming Shu. Pointing at the two roads ahead on the map, she said the one farther north led into Zhuo Shui County. It was much shorter and would make reaching Donghai Prefecture more convenient.

Opposite Zhuo Shui County, separated by Qingyuan Mountain, lay Qing Shui County to the south. Although the route would wind a little, the advantage was that the Sky-Toppling Observatory's Second Senior Brother was organizing a hunt for demonic spirits there.

With so many experts from the Sky-Toppling Observatory and the Demon Hunters present, it could be considered half a home ground. No matter which faction's enemies they encountered, their safety could be guaranteed.

What persuaded Ming Shu to choose the southern route through Qing Shui County was actually his curiosity about demonic spirits. He truly wanted to see what they were like.

By contrast, the small town in the fief near Donghai Prefecture held little attraction for him.

The Zhuoshui River flowed northward into the Yellow Dragon Great River, serving as a flood-discharge channel for the great river. The silt that poured back into it year-round had also changed the color of its waters.

The Qingshui River, meanwhile, flowed south into the Azure Dragon Great River. Conditions there were considerably better than those in the north.

The artificial canal had originally been meant to pass through this area and connect the two rivers. Unfortunately, at the end of the previous dynasty, the rebellion caused by digging the canal eventually ushered in an age of chaos and overthrew the previous dynasty.

After Great Jin unified the realm, the matter was never mentioned again. Thus, the canal south of the Qingshui River was barely kept in use, while the section farther north remained suspended indefinitely.

Though the two places were separated by only one mountain, their prosperity was worlds apart.

Qing Shui County could already be considered a flourishing major city, its prosperity built on water transport.

Zhuo Shui County to the north could only strive to develop overland transport, building the road westward into the Imperial Capital Region as wide and good as possible to barely maintain its performance assessment.

Qing Shui County was populous and prosperous, with abundant merchants and freight. That created far more possibilities for demonic spirits to appear or breed.

Rumor had it that there was more than one demonic spirit in Qing Shui County this time, and that they were extremely powerful.

Untreated demonic spirits would erode their hosts' minds, contaminate their souls, and even control their bodies.

That was what it meant to lose control.

Once control was lost, those who fell to demonic influence could no longer suppress their craving for human flesh and souls. They would carry out large-scale erosion and plunder.

Some demonic spirits possessed extremely high intelligence. They acted in secret and even used various accidents arising from human activity to make their killing and plunder appear legitimate.

The Demon Hunters who first discovered the demonic spirits in Qing Shui County this time had begun acting without reporting it. Two had been killed, one had been gravely wounded, and that person had barely escaped before sending a distress signal to the Sky-Toppling Observatory.

That was why the Second Senior Brother had personally launched the encirclement and extermination operation.

According to Chong Li's own deduction, those two demonic spirits might have been operating in the city for several years, or even more than a decade.

If they also possessed the ability to control ordinary people, this battle probably would not be easy. That was why the Sky-Toppling Observatory had secretly mobilized so many people.

Only then had she dared say that going there would amount to half a home-field advantage.

As for such an arrangement, Old Zhao wondered whether it might be a trap aimed at the Demon Hunters and the Sky-Toppling Observatory.

The enemy could be trying to draw out all their trump cards.

The Supervisor had presumably calculated this as well. Since they had no choice but to act, then exposure was exposure. Showing an appropriate degree of strength could also serve as a deterrent.

And with such a major incident occurring in Qing Shui County, the Academy officials governing the county, along with the Immortal Dynasty officials behind them, would all be implicated.

The enemy had chosen the timing of the new emperor's enthronement with astonishing precision.

Now that they had decided to take that route, they were not in a hurry. Chong Li first needed to contact the people there again and confirm the situation, lest she lead Ming Shu and the others straight into a chaotic battlefield.

Ming Shu and the others could take their time on the road. Ming Shu again confirmed with Old Zhao that he truly was unsuited to practicing martial arts.

He could not practice the Sunflower Body Refining Art, and ordinary martial arts manuals were unsuitable for him either. Forcing himself to cultivate them might damage his body.

Chong Li also told Ming Shu that practicing martial arts did not necessarily mean one would be compatible with demonic spirits. Some people had never practiced martial arts or spells and were merely ordinary mortals, yet if their compatibility was high enough, they could still obtain the power of demonic spirits.

Apart from Martial Artists in the jianghu, there were the Sky-Toppling Observatory's spellcasters, the Academy's scholars, the Dao Sect's Daoists, and the exceedingly rare Buddhist Cultivators of the Buddhist Sect.

The Dao Sect was also divided into the Northern and Southern Factions. At the end of the previous dynasty, after the imperial house fell, the Dao Sect, which had supported the imperial family, completely split apart. One faction went north, far from the Central Plains, while the other went south and lay low.

In truth, there were more than these few paths of cultivation in the world. These paths simply covered the vast majority of cultivation systems.

Chong Li seemed intent on teaching Ming Shu about this knowledge as well.

The first tier for a spellcaster was the Qi Gathering Realm, and the second was the Spirit Awakening Realm. At that point, one could basically borrow the power of demonic spirits to a limited extent.

Upon reaching the third tier, the Star Condensation Realm, a demonic spirit could survive inside the host's condensed star for a long time without relying on an external object.

However, limited by the host's strength, a demonic spirit's combat power could not match what it possessed when dwelling in a special external object. Its upper limit in battle was different.

In theory, a third-tier spellcaster in the Star Condensation Realm could carry at most two demonic spirits: one inside the body and one dwelling in an external object.

However, if the demonic spirits were not complementary types, they could not appear simultaneously to aid in battle. Instead, they would become a burden.

Ming Shu asked Chong Li what realm one had to reach before contracting more than one demonic spirit.

At the very least, one had to wait until the fifth tier, the Spirit Refining Realm, before there was a possibility of contracting a second demonic spirit. With bad luck, one might have to reach the sixth tier, the Void Refining Realm.

After repeatedly confirming that the operation in Qing Shui County had not truly begun and that preparations in all respects were nearly complete, Chong Li led Ming Shu and the others toward the Demon Hunters' camp outside Qing Shui County.